Tropical forests store massive amounts of carbon. However, when these forests are cleared (and often subsequently burned), the stored carbon is released into the atmosphere, further driving global climate change. The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical forest, with Peru forming the second-largest piece, directly to the west of Brazil (the largest). The Peruvian Amazon […]
We present a first look at the major deforestation hotspots across all nine countries of the Amazon in 2021 (as of September 18).* The Base Map illustrates several key findings thus far in 2021:p We estimate the loss of over 860,000 hectares (2.1 million acres) of primary forest loss across the nine countries of the Amazon. p Amazon deforestation has been […]
A pair of recent scientific studies revealed that parts of the Amazon now emit more carbon into the atmosphere than they absorb (Gatti et al 2021, Harris et al 2021). Here, we dig deeper and highlight the key finding: the Brazilian Amazon has become a net carbon source over the past 20 years, whereas the […]
Following the intense Amazon fire seasons of both 2019 and 2020, we are closely tracking 2021 with our unique real-time Amazon fire monitoring app.* We have documented 246 major fires across the Amazon thus far this year, as of August 1 (see Base Map below). The vast majority have been in the Brazilian Amazon (75%), […]
As deforestation continues to threaten primary forest across the Amazon, key land use designations are one of the best hopes for the long-term conservation of critical remaining intact forests. Here, we evaluate the impact of two of the most important land use designations: protected areas and indigenous territories. Our study area focused on the four […]
Illegal gold mining is a widespread problem in the southern Peruvian Amazon (Madre de Dios region), where it has caused river contamination and the deforestation of more than 100,000 hectares. This activity has also emerged in the northern Peruvian Amazon (Loreto region), where it is not yet causing deforestation and the main threat is the […]
Illegal logging, in addition to larger-scale deforestation, is a major problem impacting the Peruvian Amazon. In 2019, a Global Witness report, based on official information from the Peruvian government, estimated that at least 60% of the inspected timber over the past 10 years had an illegal origin. This problem not only directly affects the forest […]
We have documented 24 major fires in the Brazilian Amazon thus far in 2021 (as of June 29), based on our unique real-time Amazon fire monitoring app, In 2020, we demonstrated the power of the app, documenting over 2,500 major fires across the Bolivian, Brazilian, and Peruvian Amazon (MAAP #129). In a new and unique approach, […]
Last year (2020), we demonstrated the power of our real-time Amazon fire monitoring app (see MAAP #118 and MAAP #129). In a novel approach, the app uniquely combines data from the atmosphere (aerosol emissions in smoke) and the ground (heat anomaly alerts) to quickly and precisely detect major Amazon fires.* Using the app, we just detected the […]
In 2019, the Peruvian government launched Operation Mercury to confront the illegal gold mining crisis in the southern Amazonian area known as La Pampa (Madre de Dios region). As a result, deforestation decreased 90% in this critical area (MAAP# 130). Some illegal gold mining, however, has moved to several new hotspots (Image 1), although at […]
